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The top daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on May 2nd, 2022. Euan Leith's MLB DFS analysis and sleepers for building optimal DFS rosters.
Happy Monday, Rotoballers! MLB has two day games on the books for Monday, but we will skip over those for this article. Instead, we will focus on the six-game featured contests on DraftKings and FanDuel. It's a little earlier start than usual. Both sites lock their contests at 6:40 pm Eastern with the Arizona-Miami contest and go through Monday evening until a West Coast nightcap between Tampa Bay and Oakland.
I'm highly intrigued by the pitching options for Monday's slate. The premier options of Pablo Lopez, Chris Bassitt, and Max Fried all make compelling cases to be an SP1, but I'm leaning Lopez for the minute because of his matchup with the Diamondbacks. Then, at SP2, I'm debating between Drew Rasmussen as a high-end second arm or taking a chance on the recent upticks from Zac Gallen, Chris Paddack, and (cover your ears) Jake Odorizzi.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings on the 5/2/2022 Main Slate. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports. It's also essential to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, find me on Twitter @EuanOrYouOut and send a tweet my way!
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Pablo Lopez - P, MIA vs. ARI ($10,000 DraftKings, $10,500 FanDuel)
When Pablo Lopez is healthy, he's a good pitcher. Right now, Pablo Lopez is healthy, and he's a great pitcher. The Marlins right-hander is off to a phenomenal 2022 start through four games, and the good times should continue to roll against a weak-hitting Diamondbacks lineup. On the year, the 26-year-old Venezuelan is hurling a 0.39 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with a 27.1 percent strikeout rate. He's limiting hard contact, producing more swinging strikes, and keeping the walk rate down, AKA everything you want to see in an SP1. Now, he'll meet an Arizona outfit with a .612 OPS and .280 wOBA versus righties. A healthy Lopez with a perfect matchup will carry your lineups and then some on a small Monday slate.
Drew Rasmussen - P, TB at OAK ($8,300 DK; $8,200 FD)
Drew Rasmussen had it working on Wednesday #RaysUp
✂️ 9 whiffs on 31 cutters
🛝 8 whiffs on 26 sliders
🔥 33% CSW rate for the gameAvailable in 41% of ESPN and 81% of Yahoo #FantasyBaseball leagues pic.twitter.com/kCqVEfx5qn
— Euan Leith (@EuanOrYouOut) April 28, 2022
The Rays righty scored 33.7 DraftKings points after six innings of scoreless baseball and nine strikeouts. It may have been an outlier performance, but also... Rays gonna Rays. Any pitcher showing talent in this system is someone to believe in, and I'm intrigued by Rasmussen. Plus, he meets an Oakland team with a .220/.287/.350 slash line against righties in 2022, leaving them a below-average outfit and a plus matchup for RHPs. I prefer Rasmussen at $8,300 to Marco Gonzales at $8,600 on DraftKings as a high-priced SP2 option.
Others to consider (DraftKings): Zac Gallen at MIA ($7,600), Chris Paddack at BAL ($7,200), Jake Odorizzi vs. SEA ($6,200)
Others to consider (FanDuel): Chris Paddack at BAL ($7,800), Marco Gonzales at HOU ($7,100), Jake Odorizzi vs. SEA ($6,200)
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1B, TOR vs. Jordan Montgomery ($5,600 DK; $4,200 FD)
Our DFS editor, Dan Palyo, is running a season-long home run call contest on Twitter for the Rotoballer DFS writers. So far, I am struggling with only one correct call through the season's first month. However, I'm getting on the board again today with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. So if you're reading this, Dan, that's my pick. The Blue Jays slugger is in a bit of a slump right now, with only one long ball in his previous 14 games. Still, there's no denying what Vlad can do on any given night, and he will always be worth the premium. A meeting with left-handed Jordan Montgomery should give the first baseman a couple of chances to get his season trending in the right direction again.
Luis Arraez - 1B/2B, MIN at Tyler Wells ($3,400 DK; $2,500 FD)
As long as Arraez's price stays down like this, he will be a staple in my DFS lineups when facing a righty. Batting between Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa will never be a bad thing in my book. And neither is facing a pitcher with a 5.54 ERA, 10.5 percent strikeout minus walk rate, and an 18.8 percent home run to flyball ratio in Baltimore's Tyler Wells. Couple that with a venue like Camden Yards (the fifth-best park for lefties per baseball savant), and you've got a discounted match made in heaven with Luis Arraez.
Yandy Diaz - 1B/3B, TB at Daulton Jefferies ($4,200 DK; $2,700 FD) - Better on FanDuel
I can't resist Yandy Diaz tonight. The guy continuously gets on base and hands out fantasy points to DFS managers. So once Tampa Bay starts driving in runs, look out! Ji-Man Choi (elbow) hit the IL on Sunday, so Diaz doesn't have to worry about a platoon this week. He only has to care about Daulton Jefferies, a guy outperforming all his expected stats and giving up a ton of hard contact (29.1 percent).
J.P. Crawford - SS, SEA at Jake Odorizzi ($5,600 DK; $3,500 FD)
It's still strange to see $5,600 next to J.P. Crawford's name in the player pool, but he deserves it with the way his 2022 campaign is rolling along. For the year, the shortstop is sporting a 1.091 OPS and averaging 9.6 DK PPG, and he's been on fire during the Mariners' current road trip. Crawford's collected four multi-hit efforts in six away games to go with five runs and a pair of doubles, homers, and RBI. The former-Phillies top prospect is hitting fifth for a Seattle lineup averaging 5.4 runs per game over the last 15 contests. He's in a great spot to continue his torrid run of form going against Houston's Jake Odorizzi and his 6.56 xERA.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Aaron Judge - OF, NYY at Ross Stripling ($5,800 DK; $4,400 FD)
Note: If Aaron Judge is unvaccinated, he cannot play in the Toronto series.
I'm not betting against a guy with five home runs and four multi-hit games in his previous five games. I'm also not betting against a guy with a baseball savant page that looks like this:
Kyle Tucker - OF, HOU vs. Marco Gonzales ($4,600 DK; $3,400 FD)
If you're also a season-long fantasy baseball player, I hope you bought low on Kyle Tucker while you could because the door has been slammed shut after this recent run. However, it was only a matter of time before the Astros outfielder caught up to what the expected numbers were telling us. He did the same thing in 2021 before becoming an elite bat. Since April 23 (nine games), Tucker has batted .471 with a 1.192 OPS to accompany three doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, and three steals. Those numbers are good enough for 16 FD PPG and turn King Tuck into a great bat to build around on Monday's slate.
Julio Rodriguez - OF, SEA at Jake Odorizzi ($3,700 DK; $3,200 FD)
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, we have liftoff!
.@JRODshow44's first big league homer went a LONG way! pic.twitter.com/lfTmMKZNer
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2022
This could be the last day we ever get to play Julio Rodriguez at a reasonable price. So take it and run. Houston has Jake Odorizzi on the mound tonight and despite a good outing against Texas last week where he stopped "pitching like crap," I still fancy the M's to put some crooked numbers on the Minute Maid Park scoreboard. J-Rod is slashing .316/.381/.474 over his last 10 games, and those early-season struggles seem to be a thing of the past.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros (Jake Odorizzi, RHP)
I've already written up two of the Seattle guys I like on Monday, but there are a few discounts in the outfield to make this a proper stack. Dylan Moore smacked a home run in the weekend series versus Miami, while Jarred Kelenic went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, two runs, and an RBI in Friday's contest. Still, Ty France at $6,000 on DraftKings is a fade for me as he didn't collect an extra-base hit or any multi-hit games last week, and it would take me out of the running to get J.P. Crawford in my squad.
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (Ross Stripling, RHP)
The pricing has caught up to the Yankee bats. It means grabbing one of the $5,000-range bats on DK (Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu) and matching them up with some combination of Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres. New York is tied for the highest implied run total (five runs) with Houston tonight, but there's a world where that number doubles if the whole team shows up healthy and able to play in Canada. If Kyle Higashioka is behind home plate, a DK wraparound stack with the catcher, Hicks, and Judge is a route I'll take a look at going.
Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles (Tyler Wells, RHP)
Any team traveling to Camden Yards is worth a look in the stacking department. No one would blame you for starting with Byron Buxton and the 1.100 OPS he's rocking in 2022. However, you'll need some cheaper bats from Minnesota if you go with their most expensive bat. Check out Max Kepler and Trevor Larnach in the outfield as lefties with power. Also, keep an eye on Minnesota's social feeds as Kyle Garlick's injury could see top prospect Jose Miranda ($2,000 DK; $2,000 FD) join the team and make his highly-anticipated debut.
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